February - Community Kitchen of Monroe County

Food for Thought
A newsletter published by Community Kitchen of Monroe County, Inc.
February 2015
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jordan Albert
Jim Becker
Elizabeth Blauvelt
Taegan Bolden-Davis
Kyla Cox Deckard
Seth Elgar
Laurie Eynon
Jennifer Flynn
Elizabeth Gentry
Valeri Haughton-Motley
Judy Lucas
Emily Phelps
Hope Snodgrass
Ryan Strauser
Jeff Watson
Dan Williamson
STAFF MEMBERS
Megan Betz
Shaina Clerget
Tim Clougher
Shaina Dexter
Debbie Hopson
Heather James
Alex Mann
Ashley Mann
Ben Myers
Vicki Pierce
Taylor Sanderson
Adam Sommer
Kyle Sons
Bruce Woodward
Who they are and how you can help!
At Community Kitchen we strive to serve ANYone in need, no questions asked. We don’t
turn anyone away or make them prove that they need our services. However, we do know
some information about who we serve. As our loyal supporters, we want you to know who
we serve and what you can do to continue to help. In 2014:
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We served over 2,823 different individuals
51% of those we served were children
16.5% of those we served were seniors
19% of our patrons had experienced homelessness in the previous 6 months
We served 272,405 meals and snacks, a record number
Our cash cost per meal was $1.95
We rely heavily on community caring and generosity to make this happen. Ways to help
include: Volunteering, donating food, donating funds, attending our special events,
spreading the word through Facebook and Twitter, and educating your friends/colleagues
about what we do and whom we serve.
We have had particular needs lately in our Backpack Buddies program. If you are interested in donating food for that program, please find a list below of the most commonly
used items in those backpacks. Food donations can be dropped off at Community Kitchen,
1515 S Rogers St from 9am - 6pm, Monday - Friday or 11am - 6pm on Saturday.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Area 10 Agency on Aging
Bloomington Township
Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington
Ellettsville Boys & Girls Club
Girls Inc.
Hoosier Hills Food Bank
IU Health - Positive Link
LifeDesigns
Martha’s House
MCCSC
Perry Township
Rhino’s Youth Center
RBBCSC
Stone Belt
The Rise
Transitional Services Inc.
United Way of Monroe County
Community Kitchen
of Monroe County, Inc.
PO Box 3286
1515 S Rogers Street
Bloomington, IN 47402-3286
Phone: (812) 332-0999
Web: www.monroecommunitykitchen.com
Email: [email protected]
Backpack Buddies Food List
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Canned or pouch tuna
Canned or pouch chicken
Peanut butter
Meal helpers (like Hamburger/Chicken/Tuna helpers)
Fruit cups – applesauce, mixed fruit, pears, peaches, etc.
Instant Oatmeal – individual portions
Macaroni & Cheese
Small boxes of cereal
Easy to prepare food items – instant mashed potatoes, dried
soups, beans, rice or pasta meals, etc.
Granola/fruit/cereal bars
Dried fruit – raisins, cranberries, cherries, tropical fruit, etc.
Small bread mixes – cornbread, muffin, biscuit, etc.
Healthy snack crackers
Small pop top cans of vegetables
THANK YOU!
We would like to thank the following organizational and institutional supporters and we encourage you to thank them as
well. The groups below have provided financial, in-kind, or volunteer support since our last newsletter:
9 Patches Extension Homemakers
American Legion - Burton Woolery Post #18
Appel Corps Inc.
Area 10 Agency on Aging
Baxter
Bethel Lane Holiness Community Church
Binford Rogers Elementary School
Black Student Union
Bloomington Friends Meeting
Bloomington Township Trustee
Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington
CFC Properties Inc.
Congregation Beth Shalom
Crossroads United Methodist Church
Doctor Who Club @ BHSS
Dolan Ridge Community Church
Dzierba Real Estate Services
Edgewood Intermediate School
Ellettsville House of Prayer
First Church of Christ, Scientist
First United Methodist Church
Gaden KhachoeShing Monastery
H&R Block
Hand in Hand a Stone Belt Project
Herald-Times
Hilger Enterprises - Orkin Pest Control
Indiana University
IU Civic Leadership Development
IU Credit Union
Ivy Tech
Kappa Delta Phi-Gamma Sigma Chapter
Kappa Kappa - Beta Associate Chapter
Korean Presbyterian Church of Bloomington
Kroger
Leigh Allison Neal Memorial Fund
Little Union Baptist Church
Macy's Foundation
May Creek Farm Inc.
Meadowood Retirement Community Residents
Michael's Uptown Cafe, Inc.
Monroe County Martial Arts
North Central Church of Christ
Volunteers donated
15,666.25 hours of
service to
Community Kitchen
in 2014.
We couldn’t do it
without you!
One World Enterprises
Owen Valley Beta Club
Papa John's
Perry Township Trustee
Pi Kappa Alpha
Prall & Company, Inc.
Professional Development Group
Providence Place of Bloomington
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
St. Mark's United Methodist Church
St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church
Stanford Outreach
Stoneybrook Community Church of God
TIS Inc
Unionville Church of Christ
United Way of Monroe County
University Baptist Church
Van Buren Township Trustee
Vascular Center & Vein Clinic
Wright Financial Services
Mardi Gras Party
Join us for a Mardi Gras party to benefit Community Kitchen’s hunger relief programs. Celebrate the upcoming end of
winter and join us for great food, drink and music, all to support Community Kitchen.
Saturday, February 7th
7:30-11pm
Fountain Square Mall
Cajun cuisine by One World Catering; Bar service by Malibu Grill
Entertainment by The Dynamics and AsaBela silk performers
$50/person (in costume); $55/person (no costume)
Our Mardi Gras Party is generously sponsored by:
Blue Sky Veterinary Clinic
MLK, Jr. Day On, Not a Day Off Project
Community Kitchen is again grateful for the help and support of the McDoel Gardens Neighborhood on Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day. Community Kitchen is in the McDoel Gardens Neighborhood and was the recipient of their volunteer
support on January 19th for MLK Day. Neighborhood folks of all ages gathered at Community Kitchen and helped portion
granola for our Backpack Buddies and Feed Our Future Program. Thank you, McDoel Gardens!
Introducing new staff:
At Community Kitchen, we are grateful to have very few staff changes. We do want to take this opportunity though to
mark the changes in two staff positions recently. Kyle Sons came to us in September as our Operations Manager, replacing Nate Delong, who got married and moved away. Kyle has extensive background in food service and construction and
has been an excellent fit with us.
Also, brand new to Community Kitchen is Shaina Clerget. Shaina has accepted the position of Referral Specialist. She will
interact with patrons in the dining room during dinner, providing good information and referral services to our patrons,
while gathering demographic information that we need for funding sources. She just started last week and replaces Matt
Hunckler, a recent graduate of Indiana University, who will move on to the next phase of his adventure.
We are incredibly grateful for committed staff and welcome these two to the Community Kitchen family!
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
Community Kitchen Wonder Volunteer, Claudia Brink, is helping us out with Facebook. The extra help is allowing us to post
many more volunteer pictures and timely food and volunteer needs. If you’re on Facebook, please like Community Kitchen.
You can find us at: https://www.facebook.com/monroe.community.kitchen
And you can follow us on Twitter: @Monroe_ck
Help us spread the word about Community Kitchen happenings and join us today!
VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION - SUNDAY, FEB 22ND
Community Kitchen is able to maximize our resources and provide high levels of service with low overhead, due in large
part to the many who volunteer their time at Community Kitchen. Volunteers at the Kitchen serve by helping dish up carryout meals, preparing salads or side items for dinner, preparing sack lunches & snacks for at-risk children in after-school
programs, serving cafeteria style to evening patrons, sweeping, mopping, doing dishes, helping with special projects, packing backpacks of weekend food supplies for children, picking up community donations, serving on our board of directors,
providing special activities for our patrons and many other tasks. They are our friends, our partners and our lifeblood.
In 2014, the cash value of donated time to Community Kitchen was over $192,541!
Volunteers filled approximately 5,544 volunteer shifts!
On February 22nd we will gather to recognize and honor our volunteers. It is but a small
token of appreciation for the many hours of service our volunteers provide in the fight
against hunger every year. The celebration will be from 3-5pm on Sunday, February
22nd at Community Kitchen (1515 S Rogers St). All are welcome as we highlight the
year’s achievements and thank our volunteers. Refreshments will be provided.
2014 Meal Counts
Rogers Street
65,210
Feed Our Future
91,160
Backpack Buddies
29,801
Senior Links
4,266
Summer Food Service Program
Total
Express
Nutrition Links
Martha’s House
51,601
5,145
13,245
11,977
272,405
Rick and Gates have been Monday night
dishwashers for over 20 years!
Non-profit org.
US postage
PAID
Bloomington, IN
Permit No. 312
Community Kitchen
of Monroe County, Inc.
PO Box 3286
Bloomington, IN 47402-3286
Kitchen Wish List
Canned vegetables
Onions
Potatoes
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Balsamic or red wine vinegar
Salad dressing
Canned or pouch chicken
Boxed pasta or rice meals